A professor of Analytical/Environmental Chemistry, Professor Bamidele Iromidayo Olu-Owolabi, has charged all Nigerians to be involved in improving the quality of the environment.
She gave the charge while delivering the 575th inaugural lecture of the University of Ibadan on behalf of the Faculty of Science.
The title of the lecture was “Towards A Safer Environment: The Voyage of A Chemist.”
Describing environmental pollution as one of the biggest problems facing Nigerians’ world, Professor Olu-Owolabi said that it is also the bane of the society.
She said her research showed that as a result of poor compliance enforcement and monitoring, both domestic and untreated industrial effluents are discharged directly or indirectly into city canals, thus rendering their vegetation unsuitable for human consumption.
She, however, noted that as long as human beings keep polluting the environment, efforts to remove will continue because new classes of pollutants will keep on emerging.
She charged all to stop complaining about the environment but begin to do things to make it a safer place.
Professor Olu-Owolabi recommended the embrace of eco-friendly choices, promotion of recycling at the household level, sorting and managing wastes effectively and driving community awareness.
She stated that, above all, law enforcement agencies, especially the Ministry of Environment, should enforce environmental laws.
The inaugural lecture was the 25th in the series for the 2023/2024 academic session.
